Solace
by Dark Waffle
Summary: Only Lucy understands Juvia's feelings of abandonment. Post Fairy Tail 424.


**A/N: I've seen a lot of people talk about Lucy and Juvia on Tumblr, talking about how the two girls would bond over Natsu and Gray leaving them behind. So I decided to give it a crack at it. **

**I hope it's not too bad. Anyway, please enjoy this short one-shot!**

**I don't own **_**Fairy Tail**_**.**

"Speech"  
_"Flashback/Dream Sequence"  
'Thoughts'_

_**Solace**_

_**-O-**_

It had been a few months since Natsu had made a reappearance in Lucy's life after disappearing for a year. After his over-the-top, most likely criminal, tagging on the royal castle, the two, along with Happy, had set out on an adventure to find and bring back together the former guild members of Fairy Tail.

After finding a doubting Wendy, a lonely Juvia, and a traitorous Gray, Lucy was beginning to think that bringing Fairy Tail back together was going to be more tedious than she had originally thought. Though, she couldn't exactly blame them, or their feelings of skepticism and doubt.

Fairy Tail was home.

The disbandment of the guild was like turning your back on your family.

There was plenty of reason behind their feelings of insecurity.

Or maybe Lucy was just being cynical about the entire situation.

Deep inside, the hurt and betrayal that she would never voice was burning brightly. While she smiled and laughed on the outside, the blonde couldn't shake off the anger and animosity she felt. And at times when Natsu was being the most hypocritical, that was when her true feelings had surfaced.

Because he had left her first.

Fairy Tail she could handle.

But her best friend leaving her with as much as a note for his last words?

That destroyed her.

She was being unfair, blaming Natsu for her turmoil and pitting him at the source of her pain and feeling of betrayal. They had all experienced pain and lost after the battle with Tartaros. She with the sacrifice of Aquarius and him with the loss of his father. It must have taken him all the courage, all the strength in him to leave Fairy Tail, to leave _her _the way he did.

But it didn't make it any less painful.

"Lucy-san."

At the mention of her name, the celestial mage turned her head towards the voice calling out to her.

"Hi, Juvia." She smiled weakly, trying to shake off the melancholic thoughts from her mind.

"Juvia heard from Wendy-san that you and Natsu-san were trying to bring back the guild." The blue haired woman took a seat next to the blonde, her hands settled in her lap.

Lucy smiled bigger, nodding slightly. "Yes! We want to rebuild Fairy Tail and bring everyone back."

Juvia's eyes didn't move from her hands, and a look of sadness crossed her blue eyes.

"Juvia does not wish to return unless Gray-sama is with Juvia."

The smile fell from Lucy's lips as those words left Juvia's mouth. Juvia was in love with Gray, it only made sense for her to not return. They had shared a life together for six months until Gray disappeared.

'_What is it with the men in Fairy Tail leaving anyway?' _The blonde thought bitterly to herself.

"We'll get him back. Don't worry, Juvia." Putting a hand to her shoulder, Lucy squeezed it lightly. "And then we can get the rest of Fairy Tail back together."

Juvia smiled slightly at her longtime "love rival." But Juvia was not stupid, nor dense. She could see the masked feelings behind Lucy's brown eyes.

She was in pain.

And after witnessing the slight quarrel between Lucy and Natsu earlier, it was clear to see that Natsu had left her love rival behind also. Because there was nothing but bitterness in the celestial mage's voice, which was uncommon for the blonde.

"Lucy-san, may Juvia ask you a question?"

Lucy blinked, not knowing what to expect. But she nodded and smiled, saying "Of course."

"Was Lucy-san left behind by Natsu-san?"

Surprised by her sudden forwardness, the blonde didn't react immediately. But after letting the question sink in, Lucy found herself engulfed in sadness. Over the past few months, she had learned to keep her depression at bay, controlling her emotions, especially around Natsu.

She bit her lip, struggling to make eye contact with the blue haired mage. "I wouldn't necessarily say left behind…"

"Natsu left for a year, without me, to train, to become stronger." Because even if Lucy was angry at him, she couldn't hold her best friend accountable for his actions.

"Juvia is not dense, Lucy-san. Juvia can see that Lucy-san is still affected by Natsu-san's disappearance. Juvia saw the tension between the two of you earlier." Juvia wasn't an idiot. Though she called Lucy her love rival, she knew that the blonde had a special bond with Natsu Dragneel. Whatever it was, whether something romantic, or something deeper than that, Lucy wouldn't fall for her precious Gray-sama.

With her mouth agape, and eyes slightly bulged, the blonde turned away, her eyes fell with guilt and shame.

"I admit, there is still a part of me that _wants _to blame Natsu that is still so _angry _with him for just leaving me behind." A sad smile crossed her face, trying to bury those darkening thoughts. "But, I think about how hard it must have been for him to leave us like that. I think about all that we lost during the battle with Tartaros. I think about the scars that were left behind."

At the moment those words left her lips, Lucy's hand reached for her keys, clenching Aquarius broken key tightly.

"So for Natsu, this was the only way for him to move on, to go forward."

And that's what Lucy truly wants to believe. Because she couldn't image him leaving her behind for any other reason.

"Juvia killed the monster that controlled Gray-sama's father." Juvia began, clenching her hands tightly in her lap. "At times, even though Gray-sama said he forgave Juvia and thanked her for freeing her father of his suffering, Juvia feels like Gray-sama still blamed Juvia and secretly hated Juvia."

"So when Gray-sama disappeared, Juvia couldn't help but feel like Gray-sama left because he still blamed Juvia for his father's death."

Juvia began to cry, her heart feeling overwhelmed with emotions. It was always a thought in the back of her mind, that Gray secretly hated her for essentially killing her. And he only stayed with Juvia out of spite. And when he got the opportunity, leave her.

Like he did now.

Lucy enveloped Juvia in a hug, her heart feeling for the water mage beside her. She understood the anguish, the heartbreak the girl beside her was experiencing. For Lucy, it was hell. Not only having Fairy Tail disband, but having Natsu disappear from her life. But for Juvia, she would imagine it was much worse.

Natsu lost his father in front of him, Lucy watching the battle from afar.

But Juvia helped aided in Gray's father's death.

It was logical why Juvia thought Gray hated her.

And it didn't help the situation that the ice mage had ended up disappearing 6 months.

"Gray is normally an apathetic person who rarely opens up to others." The blonde said, "For him to open himself to you, live with you, share memories with you, it speaks for itself on what you mean to him."

Pulling away from Juvia, Lucy rested her hands on either side of Juvia's shoulders, smiling at her with a smile of empathy.

"Like Natsu, I'm sure Gray has a reason for disappearing for 6 months and leaving you behind. He wouldn't leave without a sort of explanation. Gray is lots of things, but he isn't the type to abandon another, especially when he knows what it feels like to be alone."

The tears pooled from her eyes, falling, streaming from her sullen, blue eyes. Juvia admired Lucy for her optimism and her sense of hope. Because even though she had suffered, the blonde kept her chin up and smiled, believing that everything would be okay.

"We're going to find him. And when we do, we'll give him a good talking too." With a blink and snarky smirk, Lucy punched her fist into her open hand, mimicking Natsu's movements.

Juvia smiled, nodding her head, wiping away at the tears in her eyes. She decided she must be strong too. Because she couldn't fall behind her Gray-sama.

"Yo! Lucy! Let's go! We gotta get to Sabertooth!"

Natsu Dragneel's voice rang throughout the small house, a look of determination written across his face. He poked his head inside, Happy floating behind him.

"Come on, Lucy!" Happy said.

Called woman turned back to Juvia and winked, a grin settling on her lips. "We'll find him, okay? So just sit tight!" The blue haired woman smiled slightly, having the upmost faith in her companion.

The blonde stood from the chair, stretching slightly. "Alright, let's go!"

"I'll stay here with Juvia-san until you get back. Have a safe trip you two!" Wendy waved with a smile.

Natsu and Lucy nodded, heading out the door, with Happy flying behind them. Watching from the window, Juvia observed the blonde and pink headed individuals, making their way towards the Sabertooth guild. She smiled as her chest lightened up slightly.

In that moment, Juvia felt hopeful once more.

And that Fairy Tail wasn't over quite yet.

**A/N: Err, I don't know how I feel about this. Very short and very quick. I read some possible spoilers on Tumblr that Natsu and Lucy leave towards Sabertooth, leaving Wendy with Juvia. So that's what I did here. **

**Also, I hope I tackled the inner angst of Lucy and Juvia okay! That was kind of hard for me, but I think it came out okay.**

**Anyway, sorry for not updating **_**Fallen Star **_**yet. But I hope this kind of makes up for it! I'm working on another one-shot called **_**Airplanes &amp; Shooting Stars**_**. So be on the lookout for that while I work on **_**Fallen Star!**_

**Let me know what you think! Reviews, comments, criticism, etc. are all welcomed! **

**Until next time!  
\- Dark Waffle**


End file.
